Little Moments. Big Memories.

COBS Bread celebrates Big Brothers Big Sisters 100^th anniversary with scone fundraiser

VANCOUVER, April 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Each spring, COBS Bread and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada (BBBS) host a joint promotional campaign to raise funds and awareness for BBBS. This year, BBBS is turning 100; COBS has created a new Carrot Cake Scone and is hosting a fundraising weekend on May 4 and 5 to celebrate.

Celebrate with us
On Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5, COBS will be celebrating BBBS by donating 50¢ from every scone purchased to local BBBS agencies. Many bakeries are joined by Big and Little Brothers and Sisters and offer a wide variety of activities and treats. Additionally, COBS will be donating 50¢ for every Facebook share and retweet of their COBS + BBBS image which will be found on their Facebook and Twitter page.

Little Moments. Big Memories.
COBS and BBBS partner to promote the 'big' need for more Big Brother and Big Sister volunteer mentors and the value of youth mentoring. To kick off its centennial year, BBBS released the initial results of one of the largest mentoring studies ever conducted. Key findings include:

• Girls with a Big Sister are four times less likely to bully, fight, lie or express anger than girls without a mentor.
• Mentored boys are also two times less likely than non-mentored boys to develop negative conducts like bullying, fighting, lying, cheating, losing their temper or expressing anger.
• Boys with a Big Brother are two times more likely to believe that school is fun and that doing well academically is important.
• 42 per cent of bullied Canadians believe they would have benefited from having a volunteer mentor, such as a Big Sister or Big Brother, to provide support.

Each of the 123 BBBS agencies depends on donations to help recruit volunteers and reach more children. Funding received from companies like COBS is used to conduct background checks on volunteers to ensure child safety and provide ongoing match support for children, families and volunteers. In just the fourth year of this partnership, COBS hopes to raise more than $60,000 for BBBS agencies across Canada.

"It's very difficult to overstate the importance of these types of relationships," said Valerie Lambert, Executive Director of Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver. "Not only does COBS help us with general community awareness, they also truly are an integral part of our funding and we simply could not bring our programs to the community without the support of organizations like COBS."

The posters and promotional materials featured in COBS bakeries are actual BBBS matches.

About COBS Bread

COBS Bread is part of the world's most successful franchise bakery network - Bakers Delight - an Australian-owned company. Bakers Delight has been in operation for more than 30 years and has more than 700 bakeries across Australia, New Zealand and Canada where the company operates as COBS Bread. All of COBS Bread's baked goods are made on the same day they are sold ensuring that everything is fresh and delightful. Any unsold items are donated daily to various local charities and food banks.

For more information on COBS Bread, visit www.cobsbread.com

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

For one hundred years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been making a positive difference in the lives of Canada's youth by developing and implementing a wide range of mentoring programs. BBBSC volunteer mentors teach by example the importance of giving back, of staying in school, and of respecting family, peers and community.

BBBSC provides quality mentoring services for more than 33,000 children and teenagers. The community-based youth mentoring organization currently has over 25,000 volunteer mentors working at 123 agencies that serve children in over 1,000 communities across the country.

For more information visit www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.

For high resolution photos, contact Debbie Roque.

SOURCE: COBS Bread

Media Contacts
Lisa Cloutier, Director of Operations & Communications
Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland
T: 604.873.4525 ext. 306
[email protected]

Kristie Yung, Marketing and Communications Officer
Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver Foundation
T: 604.876.2447 ext. 247
[email protected]

Debbie Roque, Marketing Manager
COBS Bread (BD Canada Ltd)
T: 604 296 3500
[email protected]